Harlech Castle
This
book contains groundbreaking research that will revolutionise Edwardian
castle studies. Harlech has always been a favourite destination for tourists as well enthusiasts of our medieval history. To me Harlech has always been a strangely sterile and cold castle and it was with reluctance that I was persuaded to visit and reappraise this Edwardian fortress after thirty years researching original history. What I thought would be a rather mundane trip down well trodden paths, in fact turned out to be exhilarating and exciting - since the re-examination showed that the path was not so well trodden after all.
Again and again in castle studies the mantra must be repeated - what do the original sources say and do they agree with the ‘history' that has accrued around the site? Further, if original evidence is at variance with received wisdom, then surely it is time to throw out the so-called ‘wisdom' and replace it with a more authentic account. To facilitate this, much time has to be spent examining original Welsh, Latin and French material and explaining its meaning in the modern world. This involves trying not to allow later accounts to sully the purity of the original evidence. To this end the historiography of Harlech castle is examined to see how some of the more ill-conceived legends about the site grew up.
Comparison with the records concerning King Edward I's other North Welsh castles shows that the ‘old walls' of Harlech castle, on which the Edwardian castle was built between 1286 and 1289, could not have been built in the period 1283 to 1285 as is repeatedly asserted without evidence. This book shows conclusively that Harlech castle began life as a Welsh llys (commotal court), progressed to be a major castle of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and finally was modified into the fortress we have today by kings Edward I and Edward II of England.
At Harlech, under the austere modern rebuildings, we have a living fortress that was begun some time in the lost mysterious past of the Mabinogion and Branwen. This evolved through the age of the princes, maturing into what could have been a great castle of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. However, that plan was cut short by the collapse of the principality of Wales in 1283 and Harlech became a major and largely irrelevant stronghold of King Edward I and his descendants, guarding what was said to be a wild and sparsely populated country which not even a military king like Edward IV could find the time to properly conquer due to its isolation.
This is the true Harlech castle.
The contents of Harlech Castle
and its True Origins
Introduction 1
The Geology of Harlech and its surrounds 6
Prince Hywel ab Owain and Meirionydd 10
Giraldus Cambrensis and the Trip through Meirionydd in 1188 12
The Alleged Castell Aber Ia 19
The Castle of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth in Meirionydd 22
Harlech Castle in the War of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, 1283 23
Harlech Castle during 1284 31
The Works at Harlech during 1285 34
1286: The Edwardian Modifications of Harlech Castle Begin 35
Harlech Castle Transformed, 1287 to 1290 47
Master James St George 58
Harlech and the Rising of Madog ap Llywelyn 60
Harlech in the Early Fourteenth Century 67
Harlech Castle under King Edward III and Richard II 76
Harlech and the Wars of King Henry IV 81
The ‘Great Siege' of Harlech Castle 85
The Tudor Survey of Harlech and Subsequent Repairs 92
The Welsh Harlech Castle 96
The North Wall 98
The West Wall and Hall Block 110
The South Wall 124
The Later Welsh Work 130
The Garden Tower 131
The Prison Tower 141
The East Curtain, North Section 153
The East Curtain, South Section 157
The Great Gatehouse and Crosswall 168
The Gate Passageway 174
The Ground Floor Gatehouse Chambers 179
The Upper Floors of the Gatehouse 181
The Outer Gatehouse and Piers 203
The Middle Ward 210
The North Face of the Middle Ward 220
The Outer Ward 229
The Water Gate 234
The Middle Gate and Great Ditch 239
The Western Towers 245
The Layout of the Internal Buildings 252
The Enceinte Fenestration 257
The Internal Fenestration 272
The Castle Battlements 278
The Four Stages of Harlech Castle 283
Appendices 285
Timeline 297
Introduction 1
The Geology of Harlech and its surrounds 6
Prince Hywel ab Owain and Meirionydd 10
Giraldus Cambrensis and the Trip through Meirionydd in 1188 12
The Alleged Castell Aber Ia 19
The Castle of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth in Meirionydd 22
Harlech Castle in the War of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, 1283 23
Harlech Castle during 1284 31
The Works at Harlech during 1285 34
1286: The Edwardian Modifications of Harlech Castle Begin 35
Harlech Castle Transformed, 1287 to 1290 47
Master James St George 58
Harlech and the Rising of Madog ap Llywelyn 60
Harlech in the Early Fourteenth Century 67
Harlech Castle under King Edward III and Richard II 76
Harlech and the Wars of King Henry IV 81
The ‘Great Siege' of Harlech Castle 85
The Tudor Survey of Harlech and Subsequent Repairs 92
The Welsh Harlech Castle 96
The North Wall 98
The West Wall and Hall Block 110
The South Wall 124
The Later Welsh Work 130
The Garden Tower 131
The Prison Tower 141
The East Curtain, North Section 153
The East Curtain, South Section 157
The Great Gatehouse and Crosswall 168
The Gate Passageway 174
The Ground Floor Gatehouse Chambers 179
The Upper Floors of the Gatehouse 181
The Outer Gatehouse and Piers 203
The Middle Ward 210
The North Face of the Middle Ward 220
The Outer Ward 229
The Water Gate 234
The Middle Gate and Great Ditch 239
The Western Towers 245
The Layout of the Internal Buildings 252
The Enceinte Fenestration 257
The Internal Fenestration 272
The Castle Battlements 278
The Four Stages of Harlech Castle 283
Appendices 285
Timeline 297
Harlech Castle
and its True Origins consists of 305 pages of A4 with 259 figures,
diagrams and photographs. It covers not only the development
of Harlech and its environs, but attempts to sort out the itinerary of
Giraldus Cambrensis around Meirionydd in 1188 and explains the mystery
of Castell Deudraeth and the so-called Castell Aber Ia.
The book may be purchased for £39.95 by clicking on the PayPal icon below.
The book may be purchased for £39.95 by clicking on the PayPal icon below.
Why not join me at Harlech and other British castles this October? Please see the information on tours at Scholarly Sojourns.